Horse-boot



(No Model.)

H. R. HURD. HORSE BOOT. No."482,04.1. Patented Sept. 6, 1892.

F? .1 V a a 5" WITNESSES [WEB T073 g MW W .7127 Oil/VET UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

HUTSON R. HURD, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

HORSE-BOOT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 182,0 l1, dated September 6, 1892. Application filed October 29, 1891- $e1ial No. 410,167- (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, HUTSON R. HURD, a citizen of the United. States, of Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Ankle-Boots for Horses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying specification, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to ankle-boots for horses, and is designed to effect the perfect protection of the joint by the shape of the boot and the material used and by the choice of material to avoid the objectionable qualities of the boots hitherto used.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of the boot complete. Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the arrangement of the material, and Fig. 3 shows the boot in place upon the horses leg.

Ankle-boots for horses are usually made of stifi leather shaped to more or less fully conform to and cover the joint and in some cases stiffened with metal. That the boot may be securely fastened about the leg, so as to prevent its turning, it has been necessary to provide a soft pad on the inside of the boot, below which depends the stiff curved shield protecting the joint. It is well known that in use ankle-boots are certain to become speedily foul by mud or by perspiration from the leg and the adherence of dust and dirt thereto. When used, as they most frequently are, on a horse whose joint has been already cut by interfering, the inside of the boot soon becomes smeared with the blood and serum from the wound, to which sand and dirt adheres and roughens the surface, and the wound is very often aggravated by contact therewith as the boot is struck by the horse in traveling.

A common defect in horse-boots made of leather, however stiff, is that when wet they become soft and soon lose their shape. When stiffened by metal plates, they seldom conform so well to the shape of the joint as they should, allowing sand and gravel to be thrown up against the wound or sore and adhere thereto, aggravating the same. To obviate the foregoing defects, I construct the boot of rubber,

residing in the city.

preferably in a single piece and of a shape to closely inclose the joint, while conforming to and firmly embracing the leg above the joint, as shown in the drawings.

A represents the boot, which has asubstantially tubular form with a nearlystraight neck or upper portion (1, adapted to conform to and clasp around the leg above the joint, for which purpose it may be more or less flattened, and a globose portion 1) to inclose and protect the joint. Straps c and buckles d or other equivalent means of fastening secure the boot in place in use and prevent its turning; but the joint will still be protected by the inclosing portion 1) of the boot, if the latter turns upon the leg while in use. The lower incurved portion of the part b terminates in a thin flexible edge I), which may be made to clasp the ankle below the joint so closely as to exclude sand and gravel, and yet is sufficiently soft and flexible not to restrict or interfere with the motion of the joint or foot in traveling. To more effectually stiffen the boot and to add to its durability, the central part of the portion Z) is made thicker, as seen in Fig. 2, at the point where most of the wear comes in use, and it is desirable, also, to employ a layer of stiffening material, like canvas or similar flexible material, vulcanized in the interior of the rubber, as seen at c, Fig. 2, by which the shape of the boot is better preserved without substantially affecting its flexibility.

The nature of rubber is such that sand and grit do not easily adhere to or become embedded in it, as they will in leather. Its shape is not affected by moisture, and it is much more easily washed and kept clean and free from blood or dirt than any other substance. Besides this, the soft vulcanized-rubber surface is made less irritating to a wounded surface than is one of leather or metal, and the elasticity of the rubber, combined with the arching shape of the portion 17 of the boot, gives a better protection to the joint when the boot is struck'than if the material were hard, like metal or stiff leather.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

An ankle-boot for horses, composed of an integral piece of rubber havinga layer of fibrous stifiening material embedded therein and In testimony whereof I hereto affix my sighaving an upper tubular portion to fit upon nature in presence of two witnesses. the leg and a lower globose portion to inolose the joint, said globose portion thickened HUTSON R. HURD. 5 at its middle part and having a thin flexible Vitnesses;

free edge, and means for securing the boot L. PRENTISS,

upon the leg, substantially as described. WM. G. TAYLOR. 

